If you read my article on playing the waiver wire game, you know that it is an essential part of winning your fantasy football league. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? I just told you it’s an essential part of winning your fantasy football league! Why do you hate winning?
One of the best ways to maximize your weekly scoring is to stream defenses. This strategy is simple – we aren’t as concerned about good defenses, so much as finding defenses that are playing terrible offenses. Bad offenses are more likely to keep playing badly because if they knew how to be good, they would already be good. Because of this flawless logic, I will be pointing out the best streaming options on a weekly basis.
****THE WHY CATEGORY****
Detroit Lions Defense (58% owned) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The why category is a new question I will ask when I just don’t understand what people are doing. Like when I get a notification from Yahoo that the Detroit Lions are being dropped by a bunch of people. Why? Why would you do that? Last week I recommended the Detroit Lions against the Carolina Panthers and my recommendation might have been too good. The Lions beat Carolina so badly that the Panthers were able to get a ton of garbage time points, lowering their overall fantasy value. If you picked them up last week, they didn’t win you your week, but they didn’t hurt you either. The Lions are the DST11 on the season and have one of the softest schedules in football. They are also one of the best teams in the NFC right now. They have the eighth-best pressure rate in football and Aiden Hutchinson is a dark horse candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. While I encourage you to stream defenses when needed, if you can get a legitimately good defense with a soft schedule, why bother? If someone was dumb enough to cut the Detroit Lions, pick them up and make them pay for their foolishness. And bite their kneecaps off!
Atlanta Falcons Defense (18% owned) @ Washington Commanders
The Chicago Bears just embarrassed Washington in prime time, so the smart move would be to start the defense playing them. Enter the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta has a legitimately good defense and Washington has an especially terrible offensive line. The Bears had the worst pressure rate going into their Thursday Night match-up and managed to rack up 5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Atlanta, on the other hand, has the fifth-highest pressure rate in football. They also give up the tenth-fewest points per game and the seventh-fewest yards per game. Meanwhile, Washington has the second-most sacks, the fifth-most turnovers, and most important of all, gives up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Falcons defense is probably the best streaming option for week six.
Washington Commanders Defense (34% owned) @ Atlanta Falcons
As a wise man once said, Washington just got embarrassed in prime time by the Chicago Bears, so the smart move would be to start the defense playing them. But if you aren’t comfortable picking Atlanta against the Washington Commanders, perhaps I could interest you in a used, slightly beat-up Commanders defense. Atlanta is a very good match-up for defensive streaming. Atlanta gives up the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses, scores the 6th fewest points per game, and has given up the sixth-most sacks. Washington, on the other hand, has the fifth-most sacks in football. Despite his strong performance in week five, Desmond Ridder is not a very good quarterback and pressure wrecks his already poor accuracy. Whoever you think wins this match-up will probably end up with a top-five fantasy performance for the week.
New England Patriots Defense (53% owned) @ Las Vegas Raiders
If there is one thing I have learned watching football, it is that betting on the Raiders to be bad is always a good bet. This week, the Raiders are playing on a short week and Bill Belichick was just embarrassed by the New Orleans Saints. They have given up the eighth-most sacks, the second-most turnovers, and they score the third-fewest points per game. It is no wonder the Raiders are giving up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing defenses.
Las Vegas Raiders Defense (17% owned) @ New England Patriots
If you think the Patriots are terrible, we can do another double dig and go with the Las Vegas Raiders. But if I’m being honest, I’m offering the Raiders double dip mostly as a joke. The New England Patriots offense is terrible. There is no doubt about it. They are giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. But if you are starting the Raiders defense on any given Sunday, you deserve to lose. The Patriots offense might suck, but so do the Raiders.
